Make Speech Practice Fun: Therapist-Approved Games to Try at Home

Speech therapy doesn’t end when the session is over—and the best progress often happens when kids are having fun.

At Speech Therapy Centre of Canada, we encourage parents to keep practicing at home with simple games that build speech and language skills naturally. Whether your child is a late talker, working on sounds, or developing language comprehension, these SLP-approved games are perfect for playtime.

Here are 5 easy speech therapy activities you can try at home—no special materials needed!

1. I Spy (With a Language Twist)

Goal: Build vocabulary and description skills
How to play:
Pick an object in the room and say, “I spy with my little eye… something that is red and round.” Your child guesses based on the clues.

🧠 Make it SLP-friendly:
Encourage your child to describe their own object: color, size, what it does, where you find it. This builds expressive language and categorization.

✅ Great for: Vocabulary, sentence structure, adjectives, reasoning

2. Simon Says – Speech Edition

Goal: Improve listening, following directions, and body awareness
How to play:
Give your child simple instructions to follow—“Simon says touch your nose,” “Simon says jump 2 times.” Add multi-step or silly commands for extra fun.

🧠 Make it SLP-friendly:
Use positional words like “behind,” “under,” “next to” or descriptive words like “slowly,” “gently.”

✅ Great for: Receptive language, processing, direction following

3. Story Cubes or Picture Cards

Goal: Boost storytelling, sequencing, and imagination
How to play:
Use story cubes or picture cards (or even drawings) and ask your child to create a short story. You can go back and forth, adding parts together.

🧠 Make it SLP-friendly:
Ask questions like “What happens next?” or “Why did they do that?” to encourage deeper thought.

✅ Great for: Narrative skills, grammar, conversation skills

4. Treasure Hunt with Clues

Goal: Practice following instructions and expanding sentences
How to play:  Hide a toy and give your child clues to find it (“Look under something soft,” “It’s beside your favorite book”).

Make it SLP-friendly:  Let your child give you clues to reverse roles—this practices both receptive and expressive language.

✅ Great for: Critical thinking, prepositions, expressive language

5. Animal Sound Guessing Game

Goal: Work on early sounds, turn-taking, and attention
How to play:
You or your child make an animal noise (“Moo!”) and the other person guesses. You can act it out or use toy animals for visuals.

🧠 Make it SLP-friendly:
Add gestures or act out how animals move to engage motor and visual cues too.

✅ Great for: Speech sound development, sound-symbol connection, engagement

Make It Part of the Routine

• Try just 10–15 minutes a day—at breakfast, bedtime, or during a walk
• Keep it fun and pressure-free—even a silly game builds connection and confidence
• Use the same words your child is practicing in therapy
• Reinforce with praise: “Wow, you used a big sentence!” or “You followed all those steps!”
  

Why Choose Speech Therapy Centre of Canada

We believe that speech therapy should be collaborative and family-centered. That’s why we work closely with parents to ensure children are supported both in and out of sessions.

What we offer:

✅ Custom home programs tailored to your child’s goals
✅ Parent coaching and strategy reviews
✅ In-person and virtual speech therapy across Ontario
✅ Friendly, certified SLPs who make sessions engaging and effective

Book a Consultation Today

🏥 Locations: Richmond Hill & Ajax
💻 Virtual Speech Therapy: Available across Ontario
📞 Phone: 905‑886‑5941
📧 Email: info@speechtherapycentres.com
🌐 Website: speechtherapycentres.com

Let’s give your child the tools to express themselves with confidence. Book your first appointment today.

The Speech Therapy Centres of Canada is a team of dedicated speech-language pathologists (commonly known as S-LPs or speech therapists) and speech-language pathology assistants (S-LPAs)  who provide assessment and therapy services to children and adults with communication disorders.  Our S-LPS, S-LPAs and support staff are truly committed to providing the highest quality of service to our clients and their families. We understand that navigating the world of speech therapy may be daunting so our client services team is prepared to help you every step of the way.